Reading for Tuesday, September 7: Revised and Remade Part 1
Read Revised and Remade on Blackboard, pp 191-201.
For your comment, choose one artist discussed in the article. What did they revise? How does their revision reflect the original work? How is their revision "new"?
While reading this article, I was most intrigued by the artist Cindy Sherman. Her incorporation of self-portraiture into her idea of revising and remaking is quite unique and reflects her innovation and eye for creativity. The article touched upon the idea of Sherman as “both the observer and the observed”, which is a refreshing take on the concept of re-invention. In a sense, Sherman revised the traditional idea of a photographer and a subject by combining the two and adding a new perspective. Modeling her photographs after 1950s and 1960s film stills is also a way of revising the traditional concept of a scene. A movie scene is built around a setting, mood, character, and plot and a photograph can contain all of those same elements. Sherman’s idea of representing movie characters through stills is a revision of the original because she makes the images personal—literally. Not only does she insert herself in the photograph to evoke the character and mood, but she takes the role of director as well. Her photographs present a new concept and example of remaking, because she expands on an existing story, but makes it her own. The way that Sherman tastefully directs lighting, composition, framing, and other photographic elements depicts her own style and vision for a remaking a classic moment. This methodology reveals Cindy Sherman’s sense of identity and imagery, because she reinvents what she believes are significant moments, expressions, and events. By using herself as the model, she actively remakes the images, both behind the lens and looking into it.
The artist I chose was the German artist Joachim Schmid he used discarded images and placed them together to give them new meaning. I really enjoyed reading about his work because in a way he takes something that is trash and recreates it to show the viewers the beauty that is hidden. This revision is new because he is taking different images and placing them together in a way that it gives all of the collected images a new meaning that might have not been the original meaning that it once held
An artist from the article that struck me as most interesting was Nikki S. Lee. Her images captured her "projects" which she went through much effort to change her appearance to appear that she belonged to different social groups. Her "revision" was her entire appearance as a member of American society. I personally like the idea that someone can be like a chameleon in this country, changing to fit into a new environment. It reminds me of the movie Fight Club when the narrator asks, "if you wake up at a different time, in a different place, can you wake up as a different person?". Her work questions the identity of us all and focuses on how much importance we place on our image, especially in America.
I was intrigued by the artist Yasumasa Morimura because of his work with self- portraits. On page 194 it shows what his self-portrait looks like and it looks a lot like a woman to me. The article states that "fame" is the theme of his work and he pursues the identities of famous actors and actresses as his subject.
His work is linked to Sherman's in the sense that its very similar but at the same time, opposite. It still "hinges on our understanding of the idea of beauty and glamour within Western popular imagery."
The article also says that Morimura's photographs show two sides of him, the playful ego side and the cult status of the actors and actresses.
If I had to guess the gender of the artist in the self portrait I would have definitely said a woman. I think that this is very fascinating because it shows that we all view ourselves different ways and we all identify with someone or something different.
When reading revived and remade, the artist that stood out the most to me was Cindy Sherman and her recreations of what would be typical of a movie’s stills. Perhaps most interesting about her work is this idea that you can play with location, subject matter and even poses and “create” a plausible movie scene. While the article mentions that these stills are showing how femininity is an ideal that is created, I think it does, but even goes beyond that and is really showing how fake films are, and the unreal expectations they create. Sherman goes over the top to try and express ideals created for women, by incorporating things such as styled hair, heavy make-up and large earrings. Even though 1950s and 1960s movies may not have gone as far style wise, it fair to say they probably made up for it with ideal actions such as the “perfect” housewife/woman. This seems to make her work even stronger as both movies and photographs give a person the control to mask reality.
I was inspired by Nadir Nadirov and Susan Melselas' "Family Narrative" because they were able to convey the innocence of the women and children but emulate a personal connection between artists, subject. and viewer. Although the image is a standard family portrait, Nadirov and Meilselas used lettering and characters to connect the physicality of writing, standing (posing), and time. Technically and artistically the image is successful and reminds me of a project I attempted to create last semester; connecting the mental aspects of memory and the physical lapse of time.
The artist I chose was Cindy Sherman who revised movie stills. While her work may have been interesting had it simply been recreations of movie scenes, to me the real significance of the series is that all the pictures contain Sherman herself. She is thereby able to challenge the idea that femininity is inherent in women with the argument that femininity can be constructed. Though literally movie scenes are what's being recreated, the more significant recreation is the way a viewer of the series will begin to see femininity in a whole new light. That was the "new" aspect that was added to the movie stills. Had the shots remained simply shots that appear like they could have been in a movie, very few people would have been interested. Since they now carry social and cultural meaning the photos as a series are much more significant.
The article talked about many talented/ interesting artists however, i was most interested in Cindy Sherman. The article states that Sherman's shows that femininity can literally be "put on and performed." It is clear that through her stills, Sherman is sending men in society an important message. Through imaging, Sherman shows that too many standards are created for women. Sherman's ideas to exaggerate make up, dress and hairstyles, lighting and mood conveys that men want women to be uphold a cookie cutter image. Mostly I think that Sherman portrays men as violators, meaning that men's over the top expectations in society take women's identity away.
In the "Revised and Remade" article I found the work of the artist John Divola to be the most interesting. He took archival photographs that were taken of various Hollywood sets in the 1930's that were used to record the positioning of props and other set pieces. By recreating these original photographs, he is able demonstrate the artificial nature of how these sets are made, as well as how the media misrepresented everyday household life during this time. He was able to make these images new by recreating the original images to give them a new meaning that was not originally intended.
I chose to discuss Cindy Sherman because I admire her work. All of her images are recreations of cultural beliefs, views, and traditions that have been instilled in society. Her images are taken in a familiar way that invites viewers to question the way they view certain things such as women and why they are viewed the way they are. Many pictures are narratively charged and raise issues on femininity and what it means to be a women. She not only takes the photos, but she is in them as well, making the series a post modernist practice. Her photos bring up the fact that femininity is a face that is put on and an act. Sherman revised photos, art, and replicated movie stills. It reflects how women are viewed but in a way that makes you think about it and question it
The artist that stood out in this article is Jemima Stehli. In her revision of a 1981 fashion photo shoot by Helmut Newton, she holds onto the style of the image with the black and white, as well as the pose of one of the models in the original to draw the reader to what it is referring to. But in the spirit of post-modernism she has placed herself, the artist, as the subject of the photo, leaving her bare to critique of the viewer in more ways than one. In addition the transparency of the artists self-referential nature is highlighted by the obvious cable operated camera button held in Jemima's hand. She has also updated the original in the sense that the clothing is significantly different, going from chic to contemporary average woman.
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ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article, I was most intrigued by the artist Cindy Sherman. Her incorporation of self-portraiture into her idea of revising and remaking is quite unique and reflects her innovation and eye for creativity. The article touched upon the idea of Sherman as “both the observer and the observed”, which is a refreshing take on the concept of re-invention. In a sense, Sherman revised the traditional idea of a photographer and a subject by combining the two and adding a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteModeling her photographs after 1950s and 1960s film stills is also a way of revising the traditional concept of a scene. A movie scene is built around a setting, mood, character, and plot and a photograph can contain all of those same elements. Sherman’s idea of representing movie characters through stills is a revision of the original because she makes the images personal—literally. Not only does she insert herself in the photograph to evoke the character and mood, but she takes the role of director as well. Her photographs present a new concept and example of remaking, because she expands on an existing story, but makes it her own. The way that Sherman tastefully directs lighting, composition, framing, and other photographic elements depicts her own style and vision for a remaking a classic moment. This methodology reveals Cindy Sherman’s sense of identity and imagery, because she reinvents what she believes are significant moments, expressions, and events. By using herself as the model, she actively remakes the images, both behind the lens and looking into it.
The artist I chose was the German artist Joachim Schmid he used discarded images and placed them together to give them new meaning. I really enjoyed reading about his work because in a way he takes something that is trash and recreates it to show the viewers the beauty that is hidden. This revision is new because he is taking different images and placing them together in a way that it gives all of the collected images a new meaning that might have not been the original meaning that it once held
ReplyDeleteAn artist from the article that struck me as most interesting was Nikki S. Lee. Her images captured her "projects" which she went through much effort to change her appearance to appear that she belonged to different social groups. Her "revision" was her entire appearance as a member of American society. I personally like the idea that someone can be like a chameleon in this country, changing to fit into a new environment. It reminds me of the movie Fight Club when the narrator asks, "if you wake up at a different time, in a different place, can you wake up as a different person?". Her work questions the identity of us all and focuses on how much importance we place on our image, especially in America.
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued by the artist Yasumasa Morimura because of his work with self- portraits. On page 194 it shows what his self-portrait looks like and it looks a lot like a woman to me. The article states that "fame" is the theme of his work and he pursues the identities of famous actors and actresses as his subject.
ReplyDeleteHis work is linked to Sherman's in the sense that its very similar but at the same time, opposite. It still "hinges on our understanding of the idea of beauty and glamour within Western popular imagery."
The article also says that Morimura's photographs show two sides of him, the playful ego side and the cult status of the actors and actresses.
If I had to guess the gender of the artist in the self portrait I would have definitely said a woman. I think that this is very fascinating because it shows that we all view ourselves different ways and we all identify with someone or something different.
When reading revived and remade, the artist that stood out the most to me was Cindy Sherman and her recreations of what would be typical of a movie’s stills. Perhaps most interesting about her work is this idea that you can play with location, subject matter and even poses and “create” a plausible movie scene. While the article mentions that these stills are showing how femininity is an ideal that is created, I think it does, but even goes beyond that and is really showing how fake films are, and the unreal expectations they create.
ReplyDeleteSherman goes over the top to try and express ideals created for women, by incorporating things such as styled hair, heavy make-up and large earrings. Even though 1950s and 1960s movies may not have gone as far style wise, it fair to say they probably made up for it with ideal actions such as the “perfect” housewife/woman. This seems to make her work even stronger as both movies and photographs give a person the control to mask reality.
I was inspired by Nadir Nadirov and Susan Melselas' "Family Narrative" because they were able to convey the innocence of the women and children but emulate a personal connection between artists, subject. and viewer. Although the image is a standard family portrait, Nadirov and Meilselas used lettering and characters to connect the physicality of writing, standing (posing), and time. Technically and artistically the image is successful and reminds me of a project I attempted to create last semester; connecting the mental aspects of memory and the physical lapse of time.
ReplyDeleteThe artist I chose was Cindy Sherman who revised movie stills. While her work may have been interesting had it simply been recreations of movie scenes, to me the real significance of the series is that all the pictures contain Sherman herself. She is thereby able to challenge the idea that femininity is inherent in women with the argument that femininity can be constructed. Though literally movie scenes are what's being recreated, the more significant recreation is the way a viewer of the series will begin to see femininity in a whole new light. That was the "new" aspect that was added to the movie stills. Had the shots remained simply shots that appear like they could have been in a movie, very few people would have been interested. Since they now carry social and cultural meaning the photos as a series are much more significant.
ReplyDeleteThe article talked about many talented/ interesting artists however, i was most interested in Cindy Sherman. The article states that Sherman's shows that femininity can literally be "put on and performed." It is clear that through her stills, Sherman is sending men in society an important message. Through imaging, Sherman shows that too many standards are created for women.
ReplyDeleteSherman's ideas to exaggerate make up, dress and hairstyles, lighting and mood conveys that men want women to be uphold a cookie cutter image. Mostly I think that Sherman portrays men as violators, meaning that men's over the top expectations in society take women's identity away.
In the "Revised and Remade" article I found the work of the artist John Divola to be the most interesting. He took archival photographs that were taken of various Hollywood sets in the 1930's that were used to record the positioning of props and other set pieces. By recreating these original photographs, he is able demonstrate the artificial nature of how these sets are made, as well as how the media misrepresented everyday household life during this time. He was able to make these images new by recreating the original images to give them a new meaning that was not originally intended.
ReplyDeleteI chose to discuss Cindy Sherman because I admire her work. All of her images are recreations of cultural beliefs, views, and traditions that have been instilled in society. Her images are taken in a familiar way that invites viewers to question the way they view certain things such as women and why they are viewed the way they are. Many pictures are narratively charged and raise issues on femininity and what it means to be a women. She not only takes the photos, but she is in them as well, making the series a post modernist practice. Her photos bring up the fact that femininity is a face that is put on and an act. Sherman revised photos, art, and replicated movie stills. It reflects how women are viewed but in a way that makes you think about it and question it
ReplyDelete-Lisa
The artist that stood out in this article is Jemima Stehli. In her revision of a 1981 fashion photo shoot by Helmut Newton, she holds onto the style of the image with the black and white, as well as the pose of one of the models in the original to draw the reader to what it is referring to. But in the spirit of post-modernism she has placed herself, the artist, as the subject of the photo, leaving her bare to critique of the viewer in more ways than one. In addition the transparency of the artists self-referential nature is highlighted by the obvious cable operated camera button held in Jemima's hand. She has also updated the original in the sense that the clothing is significantly different, going from chic to contemporary average woman.
ReplyDelete